How Do You Use Winding Sticks?

In the eZine I just received, one of your experts talked about using winding sticks to flatten a work surface during construction of the work surface. Duh? Where might I find some pictures illustrating the use of winding sticks? Thanks. – James Fuller

Chris Marshall: James, here’s a link to an explanation for how to use winding sticks. The concept is actually quite simple: when sighting across the tops of two flat sticks laid on your workpiece, and looking from a low angle, you want their top edges to line up with one another. If the top edges of the sticks are skewed rather than parallel, the workpiece surface isn’t flat. Winding sticks are of course, simple to make, and they’re handy to have on hand in the shop any time you’re checking for surface flatness.